Cops didn’t find Anna Jenkins’ bones during initial search, inquest told

 

Greg Jenkins said his mother’s remains were not treated with respect.

GEORGE TOWN: Anna Jenkins’ remains were not immediately discovered as only a surface search was conducted initially, a policewoman has told an inquest.

Penang police contingent crime scene investigation officer Noorhasiah Hamdan, 31, said she only found bones and personal effects on her second visit to the scene.

“At first, we only found a piece of Anna’s shoe, but no bones,” she told coroner Norsalha Hamzah.

Deputy public prosecutor Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim then asked how Anna’s son, Greg, was able to find the bones ahead of the police.

“The credibility of the police must be ascertained. Why couldn’t the police detect the bones found by the son earlier?” Khairul asked.

In response, Noorhasiah said the search which she conducted “did not involve any digging”.

She told the court that her first visit to the site took place on July 29, 2020. She spent about 40 minutes there, she said, and found an Oriental Massage and Reflexology centre appointment card and part of a shoe.

A second visit was made on Aug 7 that year, when a bone fragment was picked up, she added.

On Aug 12, she made a third visit to the site accompanied by a team from Bukit Aman’s forensics department.

Earlier this week, the inquest heard that officers from Bukit Aman working with a forensics team from Penang Hospital gathered another 33 bone fragments which were later identified as Anna’s.

The search was organised after a landscape worker inadvertently picked up a tailbone and chanced upon personal effects identified as belonging to Anna in June 2020.

Outside the court, family lawyer S Raveentharan said he found it “incredulous” that the authorities saw it fit to issue a death certificate even though only 16% of Anna’s skeletal remains were found at that point in time.

Meanwhile, Greg branded a government pathologist’s accusation that he had sullied Malaysia’s image “uncalled for”, saying he was merely describing what had taken place.

Penang Hospital chief forensic pathologist Dr Amir Saad Abdul Rahim had previously told the inquest he was upset to note that Greg had told the media in Australia that Anna’s remains had not been treated with respect.

Amir said his department was merely complying with Greg’s wishes. He said Greg should have engaged a funeral director to repatriate Anna’s remains back to Australia.

“Greg disrespected his own mother’s remains,” he had told the court.

Recalling what took place, Greg told FMT that when he went to the Penang Hospital, he found Anna’s remains placed in unsealed evidence bags. He claimed the proper practice was to triple-bag a deceased person’s remains and to seal and label the bags.

“We wanted to bring the bones back to be analysed by experts in Australia. Australia’s customs authority requires each bone to be placed in three plastic evidence bags.

“When I asked for a few more evidence bags, the Penang Hospital staff said that was not possible,” he said, adding that the remains were handed to him in a formaldehyde box.

“It was mum’s country of birth. She grew up in Malaysia. I feel the people who were meant to protect her have failed her,” he lamented.

The inquest continues tomorrow. - FMT